Review: The quiet side of guitarist Bobby Broom’s art

September 16, 2016

By Howard Reich

Listeners long have savored the music of Chicago guitarist Bobby Broom, but his work never has sounded more intimate than it did Thursday night at the Jazz Showcase.

Leading a trio that reveled in understatement, Broom performed as if leading a session in his living room, the rest of us invited to eavesdrop. Even Broom’s spoken introductions were delivered at something just above a whisper, the musician in every way encouraging his audience to lean in a bit to fully perceive what was happening.

Like many jazz musicians of boomer vintage, Broom has nurtured a love of pop hits from the 1960s and ’70s, and he indulged it on this occasion, in most appealing ways.

This wonderful photograph is part of a collection of photos of jazz guitarist Bobby Broom taken by the great photographer Farrad Ali in February at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. You can see the rest of Mr. Ali’s collection by clicking here. This photo may be used to document Mr. Broom in electronic publication news, entertainment news media, and Wiki-based stories that include Mr. Broom or feature him as a subject.